Wisdom - Jochi

Japanese: 定智 - じょうち

Years of birth: unknown. A painter-monk active in the late Heian period. He is known for cooperating with Toba Sojo Kakuyu in collecting esoteric Buddhism paintings in white, and his name remains on many paintings in white, such as the "Five Deities of the Niō-kyō Sutra" (owned by Toji Temple). His first documented appearance was in the mural paintings he created at Koyasan Daidenpōin Temple, which was completed in 1132, and he was active thereafter mainly at Shingon Buddhist temples such as Koyasan and Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto. The "Zenjo Ryuō-zu" (Portrait of a Good Female Dragon King) at Koyasan Kongōbu-ji Temple is a work that is certain to have been painted by Jōchi in 1145, based on the ink inscription on the back of the cover (post-it note) and documents such as the "Kōyasan Documents." It is famous for being an unusual work characterized by sharp ink lines among the mainly decorative Buddhist paintings of the same period, and it conveys to us today the high level of Jōchi's painting skills.

(Arata Yajima)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
平安後期に活躍した画僧。鳥羽僧正覚猷が企てた密教の白描図像収集に協力したことが知られるほか,「仁王経五方諸尊図」(東寺蔵)など多くの白描図像にその名が残る。長承1(1132)年に落成した高野山大伝法院の壁画制作が文献上の初出で,以後主に高野山や京都醍醐寺などの真言宗寺院で活動した。高野山金剛峯寺に伝わる「善女竜王図」は,表装裏にあった押紙(付箋)の墨書や『高野山文書』などの文献により久安1(1145)年に定智が描いたことが確実な作品であるが,装飾主体の同時期の仏画のなかにあって鋭い墨線に特徴を持つ異色作として著名であり,定智の画技の高さを今に伝えている。

(矢島新)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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